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Our duties
Our duties are primarily laid out in the Water Industry Act 1991, as amended by the Water Act 2003. Where appropriate, we make judgements about how best to perform these duties when doing our work.
In summary, our primary duties are to:
- protect the interests of consumers, wherever appropriate by promoting competition
- ensure that the companies properly carry out their functions
- ensure that the companies can finance their functions
Our secondary duties include:
- promoting economy and efficiency
- contributing to the achievement of sustainable development
As a non-ministerial government department we are not subject to direction from Ministers in our day-to-day work. However, we are accountable to Parliament and where required will give evidence to select committees. Each year we provide an annual report to the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the First Minister of Wales, which is laid before Parliament and is published.
Read more about our duties.
